I generally
limit my commentaries to issues concerning immigration and related matters,
however, I just could not resist the temptation to weigh in on the news
article "Court
Ties Campaign Largess to Judicial Bias" that appeared in the
Washington Post.

I thought
that the general rule of thumb is that you need not state the obvious.
But then, in this wacky world, I guess you have to wonder what is now
considered "obvious."

The
United States Supreme Court ruled, for the first time that what was deemed
"excessive campaign contributions" create a threat to a fair
trial. Could you imagine that! A judge might be influenced by a campaign
contribution! Wow! That thought just takes my breath away!

Now
it is official- money corrupts!

As you
may know, I have appeared in various events around this magnificent country
to participate in debates, panel discussions and other venues including
state legislative hearings to provide my insight and perspectives on immigration
related issues. When I have the opportunity I like to be able to talk
about how our politicians are influenced by campaign contributions.

I'd
like to make the point that because of campaign contributions our citizens
get the "Best government money can buy whenever there is an election!"

To make
this point as clearly as I can, I'd like to talk about the issue of ethics
and law enforcement. Civil servants are prohibited from accepting gifts
when they are acting in their official capacity. When I received a police
medal from the Japanese Police for the assistance I rendered their government
in convincing a citizen of Japan who was suspect in the United States
to turn herself over to the Japanese officials in the United States. She
was wanted, in Japan, for smuggling cocaine into Japan from the United
States, I was required, as you might expect, to report the award to my
boss and it was only after it was determined that the value of the medal
was less than $25 that I was able to keep it. I also had to report the
fact that although I offered to pay for the lunch I invited the Japanese
Consul General to join me at in conjunction with the award, that he insisted
on paying for the meal when the check came. (No wise cracks please, about
whether or not I had to return the meal!)

The
point is that all civil servants are prohibited from accepting gratuities
that might influence their decisions and conduct.

If a
police officer was given a cup of hot coffee by a compassionate shopkeeper
on a frigid winter's day as he directed traffic and he did not pay for
the coffee, he would most likely face an angry supervisor if he was observed
accepting that cup of coffee!

Can
you imagine what would happen to a cop or a federal agent who might tell
his superiors that he was an effective fund raiser?!

So,
now the Supreme Court, (at least five ninths of them) in a display of
real world understanding have come to the conclusion that campaign contributions
can make a judge less than objective! (I would love to know what "excessive"
means!)

Now
here is the really BIG QUESTION: If cops and federal agents can be corrupted
by gratuities, if judges can be swayed by campaign contributions, when
will others who hold elected office such as mayors, councilmen, governors,
Congressional Representatives, Senators and even United States Presidents
be barred from accepting campaign contributions?

The
obvious answer: NEVER!

One
of my favorite oxymorons, even surpassing the late George Carlin's "Jumbo
Shrimp" is "Political Reality!"

The
solution is to make certain that we vote in elections in such adequate
numbers that we can truly "Throw the bums out!" (As we used
to say at Ebbets Field where the Brooklyn Dodgers played baseball when
I was a young boy).

In less
than two years more than one third of the seats in the United States Senate
will be up for election. In less than two years every single seat in the
House of Representatives will be up for grabs! The politicians have become
accustomed to expecting that the power of the incumbency is on their side.
We only have ourselves to blame for this.

We the
People need to take every opportunity to confront those who were elected
to represent us and make it clear that if they fail to represent us, we
will find someone who will!

The
large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened
elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American
citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes
to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that
we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must
do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!

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The
collective failure of We the People to get involved in making our concerns
known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority
of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.
For far too many of them the fundamental principle could be summed up
by a two word expression: "Money talks!"

Michael
W. Cutler graduated from Brooklyn College of the City University of New
York in 1971 with a B.A. in Communications Arts and Sciences. Mr. Cutler
began working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in
October 1971 when he entered on duty as an Immigration Inspector assigned
to John F. Kennedy International Airport. In August 1975 he became a Criminal
Investigator (Special Agent) for the INS at NYC.

He rotated through
virtually every squad in the Investigations Branch. From 1988 until 1991
he was assigned as the INS representative to the Unified Intelligence
Division (UID) of the DEA in New York. In 1991 he was promoted to the
position of Senior Special Agent and was assigned to the Organized Crime,
Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which required that he work with
members of other law enforcement agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF,
U.S. Customs and local and state police as well as law enforcement organizations
of other countries including Israel, Canada, Great Britain and Japan,
to conduct investigations of aliens involved in major drug trafficking
organizations. He retired from the INS in February 2002, after a career
that spanned some 30 years.

Finally, Michael
Cutler has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including
Lou Dobbs, Fox News, MSNBC and many other television and radio news-oriented
programs to discuss the enforcement of immigration laws.

If a police officer
was given a cup of hot coffee by a compassionate shopkeeper on a frigid
winter's day as he directed traffic and he did not pay for the coffee,
he would most likely face an angry supervisor if he was observed accepting
that cup of coffee!